Music Features 73
tUnE-yArDs – “Bizness”
tUnE-yArDs have been gathering more and more steam with each album they release. For the uninitiated, the song “Bizness” from their 2011 release Whokill is a great snippet of their unique sound. A duo made up of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, tUnE-yArDs create their music by layering loops of percussion, ukulele, horns and vocals on top […]
Failure – The Heart Is a Monster
After nearly two decades between albums, Los Angeles’s Failure recently released their fourth full-length, The Heart Is a Monster. Much more than a spiritual successor to 1996’s Fantastic Planet, The Heart Is a Monster almost seems as if the band never went on hiatus to begin with and easily could’ve released this around 1998. The […]
The Darkness – Last of Our Kind
Remember that crazy song (and even CRAZIER music video) “I Believe In A Thing Called Love” by The Darkness? I know I do. It came out in the early aughts, and I will probably never forget it. I still pick it when I’m out doing karaoke with friends. I was thrilled when I stumbled upon […]
mewithoutYou – Pale Horses
mewithoutYou has been a favorite band of mine for the better part of the past 15 years. The guitar tones on their sophomore LP, “Catch for Us the Foxes” were seminal to the development of my own guitar playing style, and the “quiet/loud” songwriting tactics they introduced in their debut, “A→B Life” have had untold […]
Jazmine Sullivan – Reality Show
Here at zZounds we try to keep it 100. At least I do. Up top, or in the post, you’ll see an embedded link to audio for Philly-born Jazmine Sullivan’s album Reality Show released early this year. What you’re going to miss by hearing this clean version of her album is what makes it an unqualified success. It’s […]
QUITAPENAS (self-titled)
A thumping bass line, hand percussion, vicious guitar and chanting vocals? When I first heard “Valle Moreno,” the intense opening cut from self-titled LP QUITAPENAS, I was almost convinced I was listening to a B-side from another latin rock group’s self-titled debut, though that one was released in 1969… Each song off this record introduces a new facet of QUITAPENAS’ […]
The Bad Plus – Suspicious Activity?
The Bad Plus cemented their reputation as giants of the modern jazz world with their 2005 release, Suspicious Activity? At first glance The Bad Plus looks like a traditional piano trio, however looks are deceiving in their case. Rather than being driven by one person with interchangeable personnel, they are a true musical collective. By […]
The Cinematic Orchestra – Every Day
For years, The Cinematic Orchestra have been a highly respected and beloved group dominating the UK scene with their fusion of jazz, hip-hop and electronic music and it’s about time they get the love they deserve over here in the US of A. Every Day is one of those rare albums that really showcases their at […]
Shiner – The Egg
In this music review, we’ll take a trip back in time to the fall of 2001 and the release of post-hardcore band Shiner’s fourth and final album, The Egg. Equal parts aggressive, technical, and polished, this swan song is arguably the band’s finest work. Produced by J. Robbins, this record really feels like an extension […]
